PESHAWAR: The deadly suicide bombing at a mosque that killed over 101 people, mostly policemen and injured 221 others, has left behind many painful stories of the victims.
Constable Daud Khan of Peshawar Police, who succumbed to his head and chest wounds in the Rescue 1122 ambulance at the gate of Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) Peshawar on Monday, seemed extremely worried about the well being of his ailing mother.
Before he died, Daud Khan repeatedly asked the rescuers, “will I survive, I am the most loving child of my ailing mother and what would she do if I die. When I left home for duty on Monday, my mother asked me to bring medicines for her,”
quoting Daud, the rescue worker Taimur Khan, who brought the injured cop to hospital in precarious condition, said.
The policeman and his colleagues were performing Zuhr prayer at the Malik Saad Shaheed police lines’ mosque’s corner when shrapnel hit his in chest and head that proved fatal.
“Daud was not much worried about his wounds, rather was concerned for his ailing mother and was repeatedly asking me who would look after his mother if he died today. Taking these worries, Daud Khan breathed his last at the entrance to LRH,” said Taimur talking to APP on Wednesday.
In another touching tale, police constables Ibn e Ameen and Iftikhar Khan, who remained close friends since childhood at village Ameerabad of Charsadda district died together.
Iftikhar Khan, who was initially recruited in Wapda, had later joined KP police on the request of his friend Ibn e Ameen, thus ending the long journey of friendship.
Constable Irfan Khan, a resident of Takht Bhai Mardan recruited in 2008 in police force also died in the blast and his wish to perform Umrah in Ramadan remained unfulfilled. He left behind a widow and two sons to mourn his tragic death.
“My father Maulana Noorul Ameen (prayer leader) of the bombed mosque, has always prayed for death as a martyr and his wish was fulfilled the other day during worship,” said Mohammad Mustafa, son of martyred Noorul Amin with sobbing eyes while talking to APP.
“My father wanted to see me as a doctor to serve the ailing humanity and I am working hard to fulfill his dreams,” said Mustafa, adding his father always advocated for discipline and concentrating on studies to achieve goals in life.
Sharafat Ali, a head constable of Peshawar Capital Police and a resident of village Ismail Khel Mardan district who die in the blast was laid to rest in a graveyard that was reserved by him for the area people.
Sharfat’s family members said that the poor were facing problems due to unavailability of burial space and this issue was addressed by his father by reserving his precious land for the graveyard for general public not realising that he would be the first person to be laid to rest there.
Grief and sorrow prevails in KP
Counter Terrorism Department’s DSP Shaheed Asmat Shah, a resident of Urmar Peshawar, came to the mosque regularly for Zuhr prayer and often recited ‘Takbeer’.
The family members said that death was meaningless for Shaheed Asmat who had a great desire of laying down life for Pakistan.
Meanwhile, grief and sorrow prevailed in KP especially in Mardan, Charsadda, Peshawar, Nowshera and Swabi where majority of the victims cops belong to.
Ejaz Khan, Chief of Capital City Police Officer, said that a joint investigation team (JIT) has been formed to probe that how the suicide bomber had entered the police lines’ mosque and CCTV footage was collected for this purpose.
Talking to reporters, he said it was also being investigated whether the bomber was entered through an official vehicle or facilitated by an insider or was already present in the police lines.
Forensic investigation of the entry of four suspected people into police lines was also made to ascertain if these suspects were the facilitators of the bomber or otherwise. He said the body parts of the suicide bomber have been sent for DNA test to the forensic laboratory and further estimations would be made once the report was received.
The investigative team has also started profiling the staff of the police lines where security has been beefed up after the horrific bombing that claimed the lives of 101 and injured 220 others.
